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Page 153

Page 153(Chronicles of Froissart)

page 153

and the third Sancho. This king don Peter hated them so, that he would not suffer them to come in his sight, and oftentimes, if he might have gotten them, he would have stricken off their heads howbeit they were well beloved with the king their father, and in his life he gave to Henry the eldest the county of Asturge, but this king don Peter his brother had taken it from him, and therefore they kept daily war together. This bastard Henry was a right hardy and a valiant knight, and had been long in France and pursued the war there and served the French king, who loved him right entirely. King don Peter, as the common bruit ran, had put to death the mother of the children, wherewith they were right sore displeased, and good cause why. Also beside that, he had put to death and exiled divers great lords of the realm of Castile: he was so cruel and so without shame that all his men feared, doubted and hated him as far as they durst. Also he caused to die a right good and holy lady, the which he had to wife, called the lady Blanche, daughter to duke Peter of Bourbon, sister-german to the French queen and to the countess of Savoy, whose death was right displeasant to all her lineage, the which was one of the noblest lineages of the world. And beside all this there ran a bruit of him among his own men how that he was amiably allied with the king of Granade and with the king of Bellemarine and the king of Tremesen,1 who were all God's enemies and infidels wherefore some of his own men feared that he would do some hurt to his own country, as in violating of God's churches, for he began already to take from them their rents and revenues and held some of the prelates in prison and constrained them by tyranny, whereof great complaints came daily to our holy father the pope, requiring him to find some remedy: to whose complaints the pope condescended, and sent incontinent messengers into Castile to the king don Peter, commanding him that incontinent without any delay personally to come to the court of Rome, to wash, cleanse and purge him of such villain deeds as he was guilty in. Howbeit this king don Peter, full of pride and presumptuousness, would not obey nor come there, but r Tlemcen. dealt shamefully with the pope's messengers, whereby he ran greatly in the indignation of the Church and specially of the head of the Church, as of our holy father the pope. Thus this evil king don Peter persevered still in his obstinate sin. Then advice and counsel was taken by the pope and by the college, what way they might correct him, and there it was determined that he was not worthy to bear the name of a king, nor to hold any realm, and there in plain consistory in Avignon, in the chamber of excommunication, he was openly declared to be reputed as an infidel. Then it. was thought that he should be constrained and corrected by help of the companions that were as then in the realm of France. Then the king of Aragon, who hated the king of Castile, was sent for, and also . Henry the bastard of Spain, to come to Avignon to the pope ; and when they were come, the pope made Henry the bastard legitive and lawful to obtain the realm of Castile, and don Peter cursed and condemned by sentence of the pope, and there the king of Aragon said how he would open the passage through his country and provide victuals and purveyances for all manner of people and men of war that would pursue to go into Castile to confound king don Peter and to put him out of his realm. Of this ordinance was the French king right joyous, and did his pain to help to get out of prison sir Bertram of Guesclin, who was prisoner with sir John Chandos, and paid for his ransom a hundred thousand franks, part thereof paid the French king and the pope, and Henry the bastard paid the residue ; and after his deliverance they fell in treaty with the companions and promised them great profit, if they would go into the realm of Castile ; whereto they lightly agreed for a certain sum of money that they had to depart among them : and so this journey was shewed to the prince of Wales and to the k